Syn.: Aragallus podocarpus (A. Gray) A. Nelson, Spiesia podocarpa (A. Gray) Kuntze
Family: Fabaceae Lindl.
Distribution: Arctic and alpine areas of North America, in northern Canada in Nunavut and to the east to Labrador and southward along the Rocky Mountains to Colorado.
Ecology: Grows in tundra, dry rocky slopes, in elevations 15 to 2700 m. Blooms in June and July.
Description: Perennial herb, stems prostrate to erect, 1–7 cm long. Leaves alternate, petiolate, odd-pinnate, 2–5 cm long, 9–25 leaflets, linear to lanceolate, 2–8 mm long, silvery hairy. Inflorescence 1–3 flowered raceme, peduncular, calyx 2/3 of corolla length, corolla bluish to purple with contrasty markings. Fruit inflated, ovoid legume with pointy tip, 1.5–3 cm long.
These images were taken in Canada, Alberta, Plateau Mountain (July 2011).
